Mechanical adjuster



May 30, 1944. E; L

MECHANICAL ADJUSTER Filed March 18, 1942 I N V EN TOR. Erasfus K 12ml HTTOFNEY Patented May 30, 1944 OFFICE in Barre, 'Pa., assignoFto' Deal Slide-Lock Devices, Inc., Bronx, N. Y., a corporation of New York a g Application-March is, 1942 .Serial No." 135,247 7 Claims. 01. w 139)" The present invention relates to-.mechanical adjusters and slide-lock devicesof the general type illustratedin'Reissue Patent No.- 20,327,

granted to me April 13, 1937.

- It is difficult to have floors free from dips an bulges, and tables of all kinds tend to rock when placed on an uneven portionj'r Waiters commonly force a wedge or some other article'under oneleg to make it level. The handling-of such articles by the waiter is unsanitary and the-ad justment is not satisfactory because it frequently" slip out. A satisfactory and simple means for lengthening one or more legs of a table-ismuch desired. The slide-lock described herein may be utilized for various other purposes and in various devicesg'the above example being illustrative only. Inthe various uses, it is desirable that the slide members' be readily adjustable to any desired position and that they bereladily and securely locked in that position. Likewise, the device should permit the slide member-to be unlocked and securely fixed in a different position' without difil'culty. The" presentfinven tion is an improvement upon my patent= identi fled above and attains certain additionalobjec tives which will be described-hereinafter; I An object-of the present invention" is to-pro vide an improved slidelock device". Q

' Another object of the invention is to pro vide an improved slide-lock device whi'h se-f curely locks itself in anydesired position and which can be readily unlocked and fixed in a different position. Other and further objects" of the invention will be obvious uponen understanding of "the 'illus'f trative embodiment about to be: described, 'f'or willbe indicated in the appended cIaims'Qiand various advantages not referred to hereinjwill of'the invention in practice. A v

A preferred embodiment of theinventilon' has been'chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in thejaeconrpanying drawing, forming a part "of; the specification; w i l l Fig. 1 is afront view of an embodimentbf the invention applied to the leg of atable for illustrative purposes; I I Fig. 2 is a view of the device with 'the cover removed illustrating the. inner parts thereof. with the wedge'members separated:l V H t Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3- 3 ofFigl; and

Fig. 4 is ajlongitudinal sectional view along the lined-4 of Fig. 2 with the cover included."

occurto one skilled in the art upon employment Referringagain to the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is.

shown an. adjuster l.-secured to. the leg 2 of a table by. means of screws 4. The function. of

. the device on the table leg is to increase the 4 length of the leg to compensate for anyv unevenness in the floor on which the table is placed. The adjustment for varying the length of 'the leg should be easy to make'andshould be sufii.

ciently strong to resist substantial weights placed on the table and. alsoto resist any rough usage to which the device may be subjected;

The interior of the mechanism which accom plishes these results is shown more particularly in Fig. 2, where the cover 5 has been removed from the devicep A wedge member 8 having. a 'wedge surface 9 at its upper end' projects downwardly below the lower end' of the table leg 2 to increase th length thereof. A second wedge member 6 has a wedge surface 1 at thelower end thereof adjacentthe wedge surface 9. These two wedge members 6 and 8 may be retained in alignment by: any suitable means, for example byca channel member-10 having a bottom II and sides l2. ,Thus-- the wedge members are slidably retained in position for movement longitudinally in thechannel member or guideand 8 are provided with slots l5 and .IG adapted. to permit the screws l'to pass therethrough:

Suitable apertures in the bottom" of the channel member l0 permit the screws to pass through it also and to be attached to the leg of the table or to a ,part of any other device illustrated in the drawing. The slots l5 and I6 permit the wedge members 6 and 8 to be moved' 'with the screws 4' remaining in position.

- In order to slidably lock the wedge members 6 and 8 in positi'on, thereis provided a thin strip of flexible material I 1 which extends be} tween the wedge surfaces 1 and 9 and along the opposite sides of the 'channelm'ember y lo. w'ithth'e ends 18 thereof bent around the diagonally 'di sposedcorners of the channel member to'seeure the strip in position. Preferably the hooked ends l8 of the strip are weldeglor soldered in additionto being bent around the sides of the channel member so that they will be s e curely fixed'in position. It will "be understood that the ends of the strip maybe secured to the channel member or to the fixture on which the device is mounted in any other desired manner and that they may be secured at points slots l and I6 intermediate the screwsd and the i matically in position to lock the lower wedge member against upward movement; hence, any weight-placed on the table merely increases the ends of the slots nearest-the; wedge surfaces.

These springs urge the wedge? members toward each other to force the wedge surfaces thereof into contact with the flexible strip l1 passing therebetween. A difliculty encountered with the spring illustrated in my prior patent is that persons, who do not understand the principle of the device, are inclined to pull thel'wedg'e members apart'by pulling onboth wedge members; instead of on pneQaIGne. This places an unnecessary strain on the tension spring which maycause' it to'giv'e way, thereby impairingthe further use of the device. Byhav'ing compression springs" l9 and. 2B in'the slotsi I5 and lE'fthe difiicult'y is minimized as the springs are supported about their periphery by the sides of the slo'ts'and by the top and botton'i'of the casin Thus supported n allsi'desfby thehousing, the springs will withstand extraordinary: strains without impairin any" way. 'A't th' sain'e time", the springs are effective i'n their locking'z function as the greater the" pressurethereon, the more efie'ctive the kicking action. Pi'ef'erably' each of the springs 119 and; 1's fastened at one end thereof to the screws l an'd its other end fits over aipro jection "of pin 2| this" assfists maintaining" the s'pri'rlgsin desiredposition; r I

When weight is' appiiedto the-table so that there 'is' a pressure u ward on the Wedge mem her 8, thei fi'exible strip" is tightlyiclamp'ed between tlie 'two wedge surfaces 1' and 9 The more weight thatiis applied to the-table, the tighter the strip willbeblanilied in position a resultof thclampineefkbt and of the friction contact between the sides of the wedges and the sides of the channerm'me spring" It on the. upper wedge member Wis sufii'cientlytstrong to keep the wedge surface l th ereof irrcoritabt'witlr the'strip' sothat the interlocking mechanism" becomes-effective immediately upon pressure being applied to force the we'dgimember 3" upwardly. However; when pressureis applied to'move thewedge member 8' mined; byth-e length of. the flexiblestrip, l t and by thedength ofthe slots I 5v and Aisle/For conveniencedn making the adiustment the outer ends of thawedge membenfi :and 8 may. be -flanged.

a indib tedjatnlt. The parts oft-he improved- 75 slide-locking device have been shown somewhat thicker than. necessary in an actual device.

In the operation of the device, the table may be held level and one can with his foot press down on the lower flange l3 until it touches the floor. Thi will pull the wedge members apart and the upper spring 19 will cause the upper wedge memher 6; totfollow' the lower wedge member 8 down to the adjusted position, When the adjustment has been made, the upper wedge member is autolocking action. If it is desired to shorten the talegjwlfiich has. previously been lengthened, one c n pull tl'ie u-pper member 6 upward by gripping the flange 3 thereof and in this way, the leg can be shortened to its normal length.

Itwill be seen that the present device provides an effective slide-locking mechanism which is fully capable of witl lstan'din'g:the rough usage to which itmay beLsubjected. The springs; being supported laterally by the" housing throughout their lengths, will withstand extraordinary strainsyandcsincei they operate on a. compression principle; they-are much stronger than a tension spring. The device: i's;simpler in construction and it maybe: readily manufactured at a low cost:

As various. changes maybe made in the form, construct-ion and. arrangement of; the parts herein without departing; from thescope and spirit of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages; it is to be understood that all matter herein! isto'be interpreted as illustrative and not inr a'limiting-sensew Having thus- ,described my invention, I claim:-

".1?. ;'Ina mechanica-hadjuster'and the like, the combination. of"ahousing, cooperating wedge members mountedin the housing having opposed-wedge surfaceseach of said wedge membersv having a slot thereim afiexible member extending; between: saidv wedge-surfacesand .re-' tainedby thehousin'g at points. spaced; longitudinally thereof sumciently to permit longitudinal moyemgntoflthe wedge. members, --means fixed to the housing and extending into'saidslotsand atpair of compression springs mounted in said slots, respectively, and veifeotive: upon saidmeans fixed to the housingand' upon one end. of each slot to urge said Wedgemembers against said flexible-.member passing. between the wedge-surfaces.

2. In a mechanical adjuster andthe like, the combination. oi-L a casing, cooperating Wedge members mountedin the casing .having opposedwed gesurfaces, each of saidv wedge members havinga-slot therein, a flexible member of metal extending between said wedge surfaces and secured to the casing. at points'spaced fromthe Wedge surfaces to permitlongitudinal. movement of. the wedge members, and resilient compression meanstmou nted in the 'slotof. each of. said. wedge members. and. operativelycconnected to said. casing-andsefiiectiveupon one end, of each slot to urge said wedge members against said flexible memberpassing betweenthe wedge surfaces.

3. In av mechanical-adjuster and the like, the combination of' a casing. cooperating Wedge members mounted in the. casing having opposed wedgesurfaces, each of said. wedge. members having a recess thereima flexible member extending betweensaidwedge surfaces and secured in position at points spaced from the wedge surfaces. to. permit longitudinal. movement. of .the

- wedge; members, and resilient compressionmeans mounted in said recesses effective upon said casing and upon an end of each recess to urge said wedge members against said flexible member passing between the wedge surfaces.

4. In a mechanical adjuster and the like, the combination of a casing, cooperating, wedge members adapted to slide along the casing and having opposed wedge surfaces, each of said members having a recess therein, a flexible metal member extending between said wedge surfaces and having portions fixed with respect to the casing at points spaced longitudinally thereof sufliciently to permit longitudinal movement of the wedge members along the casing, a pair of compression springs mounted in said recesses, respectively, each spring having one end effective upon an end of the recess, and means operatively connected to the other ends of said springs to render them effective to urge said wedge members toward said flexible member passing between said wedge members.

5. In a mechanical adjuster and the like, the

combination of a casing, cooperating wedge members adapted to slide along the casing and having opposed wedge surfaces, a flexible metal member extending between said wedge surfaces and fixed with respect to the casing at points spaced longitudinally thereof sufficiently to permit longitudinal movement of the wedge members along the casing, a pair of compression springs, one end of each spring being effective upon said wedge members, respectively, means fixed with respect to the casing and effective upon the other ends of the compression springs to urge said wedge members toward said flexible member passing between said wedge members, and means for supporting the compression springs laterally thereof.

6. In a mechanical adjuster and the like, the

5 combination of a casing, cooperating wedge members adapted to slide along the casing in a substantially vertical direction and having opposed wedge surfaces, a flexible member extending between said wedge surfaces and fixed with respect to the casing at points spaced longitudinally thereof suficiently to permit longitudinal movement of the wedge members along the casing, resilient compression means operatively connected to the upper one of said wedge members, means effective upon said resilient compression means to force said wedge member toward said flexible 'member passing between said wedge members, and means for supporting said compression means laterally.

7. In a mechanical adjuster and the like, the combination of a casing, cooperating wedge members mounted in the casing having opposed wedge surfaces, said wedge members having 1ongitudinal slots therein, members fixed with re- 25 spect to the casing in said slots, springs in said slots held under compression by the fixed members in the slots to force the wedge members toward each other, said springs being supported laterally by the sides of the slots and by the eas- 30 ing and a flexible member extending between said wedge surfaces and fixed with respect to the casing at points spaced longitudinally from the wedge surfaces to permit adjustment of the wedge members.

ERASTUS C. DEAL. 

